Alexander Zverev arrived in New York as the US Open’s top seed. Less than five hours into his campaign, he was fighting simply to remain in the tournament.
The German survived a ferocious first-round challenge from Lorenzo Sonego, winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(7), 7-5, 6-4 inside Arthur Ashe Stadium to escape an upset that came dangerously close to detonating his title run before it had properly begun.
Sonego, ranked No. 89, pushed Zverev to the edge and moved within two points of victory in the fourth set.
But with the pressure peaking, Zverev found the resistance his status demanded.
He recovered, forced a deciding set and eventually completed the comeback after nearly five hours of tennis in New York.
For Zverev, this was survival before statement.
He entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed at a major for the first time in his career and carried a perfect 6-0 ATP head-to-head record against Sonego.
None of that authority protected him once the Italian began disrupting his rhythm and forcing the favourite into a match defined by pressure rather than ranking.
Zverev later described the contest as an “incredible battle” after a night of swings and uncertainty.
The numbers underline how hard he had to work.
Zverev created 22 break-point opportunities but converted only five, while early forehand errors helped Sonego drag the match away from the script expected of a top seed.
As the night deepened, however, Zverev’s movement and return quality improved and the balance finally shifted.
There is also a wider warning in the escape.
Zverev entered the US Open carrying heavyweight expectations, but his opening night showed how quickly Grand Slam authority can turn into vulnerability.
One bad stretch became two lost sets. Two lost sets became a fourth-set crisis. Suddenly, the tournament favourite was staring at an immediate exit.
He survived it.
That resilience keeps his championship campaign alive, but it also leaves the rest of the draw with evidence that the top seed can be dragged into deep water.
Zverev now moves into the second round to face France’s Quentin Halys.
The first round did not give him the clean opening expected of a No. 1 seed.
It gave him something more revealing: a warning, a five-set fight and a chance to prove that surviving pressure can become the beginning of a championship run.
Cranse Sports
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